The present invention pertains to an ink bar with a control for feeding printing ink into the ink duct of a printing press as needed.
In prior-art units, the ink bar extends at a spaced location from and at right angles above the ink duct. A sensor located at the bar determines the height of the ink level by means of ultrasound and reports the lowering to the control via a terminal box. The control switches on and off an ink valve for refilling the ink duct. The devices located on the ink bar are connected to the control members via cables and tubes, which are usually located at a considerable distance from the ink bar. These long cables and the tubes are in the way and are also expensive.
The basic object of the present invention is to develop an ink bar at which all essential functioning parts for controlling the ink level are arranged in a compact manner and are connected to one another by partially hidden cables, wherein the amount of the cables necessary in the state of the art is substantially reduced.
The essence of the present invention is that the ink bar comprises a hollow bar section or extruded section with at least one groove designed as an undercut groove in a lateral outer wall for receiving cables, with the interior space of which adjustable discharge valves as well as the inlet of an ink valve are connected, and that a sensor that can determine the printing ink level as well as the ink valve coupled with a terminal box are arranged on the bar section or extruded section, and the two are connected via the cable located in the groove.
It proved to be advantageous to arrange various types of holding parts at both ends of the bar section or extruded section for fastening on the frame walls of the printing press or of the ink duct. These holding parts or screws or plugs close the hollow space of the bar section or extruded section on the front side.
A Roland ink pump, which shows very generally a distributor tube with ink duct and level controller, is described in the journal Druckwelt, 15/1970. This arrangement as well as the ink distributor arrangements described in the other documents mentioned in the Search Report are not suitable for accomplishing the above-mentioned object of the present invention. No ink bar that would comprise a hollow bar section or extruded section with at least one groove undercut in a lateral outer wall for receiving cables can be found in the state of the art at all.
The ink bar according to the present invention can be manufactured and supplied as a prefabricated assembly unit, so that only the connections for ink, electric cables and air are then to be arranged in order to make the ink bar ready to operate. This substantially reduces the assembly effort.
It is recommended within the framework of one embodiment to integrate the control unit in the ink valve. It is also possible to integrate the sensor, the ink valve and the control unit in one assembly unit fastened on the bar section or extruded section. A solenoid valve needed to open the ink valve may also be integrated in the assembly unit. One or more switching elements now make possible the switching on and off, manual filling, automatic filling as well as the display in operating and disturbance functions.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.